Device for handling reels



May 18, 1954 C. w. RUTH 2,678,776

i DEVICE FOR HANDLING REELS Filed Oct. 8, 1952 '5 Sheets-Sheet /NVENTOR F/G. 2 C. W RUTH BvA A 7' TORNE Y May 1s, 1954 C. W. RUTH DEVICE FOR HANDLING REELS 5 Slfxeets-Shee'rI 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1952 INVENTOR C. W RUTH Arron/vw May 18, 1954 c. W. RUTH 2,678,776

DEVICE FOR HANDLING REELS Filed oct. s, 1952 3 'sheets-gne@ :s

/Nl/ENTOR C. W RU TH ATTORNEY 42 at which the motor 3U is mounted. At the opposite side of the frame ft2, a gear 'S3 secured to the roll I5 is operatively connected to a gear 55 mounted on the roll I8 by means of an intermediate gear 52. The motive power needed to rotate a loaded cable reel is so great that it is preferred to locate meshed driving gears at both ends of the rolls in this fashion. The opposite ends of the rolls I5 and I8 are provided with peripheral flanges 53-53 located adjacent to the gears on the sides thereof away from the frame 42, The iianges 53-53 protrude radially further than do the gears 3B, S8, 138 and 50, thereby eliminating any possibility that the reel I may slip sideways beyond the driving surfaces of the rolls and land on the gears. Furthermore, the flanges 53-53 keep the reel I from straying undesirably far from the center of the rolls I 6 and I8.

In accordance with the invention, the reel I l when fully loaded may be dislodged from the rolls I6 and I S by elevating the portion of the reel that rests upon the roll I8, to eject the reel and shove it off onto the floor 25. In order to achieve such elevation, the roll I8 is engaged by a pair of arcuate wedges Eli-5ft shaped to conform to the peripheral surface of the roll, and which preferably extend across substantially the entire length of the roll. The arcuate wedges 54-5# are inter-locked in sliding contact with the roll I8, and they engage this roll by extending around somewhat more than half of its circumference. Under ordinary conditions, such as when the cable i4 is being wound upon the reel IG, the wedges 54-54 do not rotate with the roll I3. Instead, these wedges fioat freely on the roll I3 and hang near the lower portion of the roll with their tapered ends 55-55 pointing upwardly, as is best shown in Fig. '3.

A connecting rod 56 which extends the entire length of the roll I8, permanently retains the arcuate wedges 5-5f5 in sliding contact with this roll and partially encircling it. At each of its ends, one of the arcuate Wedges Sil-54 is provided vvith fingers 58-58 between which extends a matching tongue G formed integrally of the other one of the wedges. The connecting rod S extends entirely through the fingers 58-58 and the tongue 6D, and it secures these members together by means of nuts, of which a nut 62 (Figs. 5 and 6) is shown, secured at opposite ends of the connecting rod. The fingers 58-53 and the tongue Gal are provided with abutting straight shoulders {i3-53 (Figs. 3 and 4) which prevent the wedges SII-5cl from hinging on the connecting rod 56. 1

The roll I 8 is provided with a radial bore 64 in which a plunger 65 may reciprocate. Normally, the plunger 65 does not protrude beyond the outer periphery of the roll I8, and it is constantly urged inwardly into contact with a sleeve 88 surrounding the shaft 22 by means of a spring lli which surrounds the plunger S6. The spring 'I0 bears against the inner periphery of the roll I8 and extends to a fixed collar l2 secured to the plunger 66 near the end thereof that contacts the sleeve 68. The mounting of the plunger 66 necessarily causes it to rotate with the roll E3. The sleeve 68 is in sliding contact with the shaft 22 and is mounted so that it can reciprocate longitudinally thereof.

A spring 'III constantly urges the sleeve 68 to the right, as viewed in Figs. 5 and 6, towards a collar 'IG aixed to the shaft 22. The collar 'i6 functions as a stop which limits further movement of the sleeve 68 in this direction. One

end of the spring 'I4 bears against a flange 18 secured circumferentially of the sleeve 68, and the other end of the spring 'I4 bears against an inwardly protruding flange formed integrally of the roll I8.

A lever 82 (Fig. 1) may be manually actuated to pull the sleeve 68 to the left, as viewed in Figs. 5 and 6, in opposition to the action of the spring 74. The lever 82 is generally vertically disposed and it is pivotally mounted at an intermediate point designated 84 located at the level of the fioor 28. The upper end of the lever 82 is conveniently accessible to an operator standing on the floor 28 near the reel IU. The opposite end of the lever 82 extends down into the pit 24 and is pivotally connected to one end of a rod 88 which extends axially through the adjacent end of the shaft 22. The other end of the rod 85 is provided with a plurality of radial arms 88-88 which protrude into spaced apertures SII-9U formed in the periphery of the sleeve 68. The rod 86 is free to reciprocate 1ongitudinally of the shaft 22 when the lever 82 is actuated, and in doing so, the rod causes the arms 88-38 to reciprocate within a recess 92 formed in the interior of the shaft 22.

The reciprocatory motion of the sleeve 68 is translated into a corresponding reciprocatory motion of the plunger 56 by means of an arcuate cam 9@ integrally formed on the outer periphery of this sleeve. The cam 9i.- presents to the plunger 66 a bearing surface that is concentric with the periphery 0f the sleeve 68 and extends continuously around somewhat more than half of the circumference of the sleeve while protruding above it a uniform height. The beginning and the end of this bearing surface are located at beveled surfaces SI5-95 of the cam 94. The beveled surfaces 96-96 slope gradually from the bearing surface of the cam 94 to the portion of the surface of the sleeve SB exposed between these beveled surfaces.

When the motive power of the rolls I6 and I3 is being used to wind the cable Ill onto the reel I0, the elementsV of the apparatus assume the positions shown in Figs. 3 and 5. It should be observed that the cam 84 is well to the right of the plunger 66, so that the plunger normally does not reciprocate as it is swept around the sleeve 68 by the roll I8. However, when the lever B2 has been actuated to move the sleeve 68 to the position shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the plunger S6 repeatedly rides from the surface of the sleeve 68 up over one of the beveled surfaces i6-9S onto the bearing surface of the cam 94, then the plunger travels around the cam and down over the other one of the beveled surfaces 96-96 back onto the surface of the sleeve 68. In this manner, the plunger 66 is caused to reciprocate once for each revolution of the roll I8 when the cam 94 on the sleeve B8 is in the position shown in Figs. 4 and 6. This condition continues only so long as an operator is actuating the lever 82, since at other times the spring ill restores the sleeve 68 to its normal position, in which position the cam 94 does does not contact the plunger 66, as is shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

The instant the plunger 66 encounters one of the beveled surfaces 96-96 and begins to ride up onto the bearing surface of the cam 94, the plunger 66 is thrust radially outward through the bore 613 in the rotating roll I8. As the roll I8 continues to rotate and the plunger 66 rides further up on this beveled surface, the plunger 66 protrudes gradually beyond the outer periphery of the roll it and enters a tapered recess 98 formed in one of the arcuate wedges 54-54. The tapered recess e3 is designed to accommodate the plunger @t as the plunger is thrust outward increasingly further until the plunger reaches the end of this recess, whereupon the plunger 66 will pick up the arcuate wedges 54--54 and begin to carry them around with the rotating roll I8. As the arcuate wedges Sli-5d are advanced from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, they are inserted between the roll I3 and the reel i6, and then they increase the tilt of the reel it by elevating the portion or" its rims i2-I2 that had been resting upon the roll i8. rThe size or" the wedges 55-54 is determined by the size of the reel to be handled. The wed.,- ing action should desirably be suicient to shift the center of gravity of the reel It to the left of the center of the roll I6, as seen in Fig. Ll, so that the reel will be ejected from the rolls and shoved o onto the ioor 28 by the device itself, without further assistance from the operator.

A spring Ict tends to return the arcuate wedges St-l to their original position, as illustrated in Fig. 3. One end of the spring Ille is secured to one of the wedges, and the other end of this spring is secured to a bracket I2 mounted in the center of the bottom of the pit 24. A portion of the spring itil conveniently lies within a pair oi communicating grooves, of is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, formed in the outer peripheries of the arcuate wedges End- 54. The return motion of the wedges Sill- 54 occurs the moment the plunger 63 rides off the end of the bearing surface of the cam et. the spring it functions to retract the plunger t5 out of the tapered recess S8, thereby releasing the arcuate wedges iid-5t so that the springit may pull them clockwise back to the position illustrated in Fig. 3.

IThe plunger 66 cannot be cammed into engagement with the tapered recess 98 formed in the arcuate wedges till- 54 unless the plunger is passing through a predetermined portion of its path ci revolution corresponding to the open space beu tween the beveled surfaces ri-S6 oi the cam til. This result is achieved by providing the left side of the cam @il with a nat face 105 (Figs. 5 and 6) which prevents the sleeve 68 rom being moved to the left by the lever S2 until the plunger has rotated past the face itt. Until this condition occurs, the plunger @t does not protrude beyond the outer periphery of the roll I8.

Operation The rims i2-I2 of the reel I are supported by the rolls i6 and i8 while the motor 3i] drives these rolls at the same speed and in the same direction to wind the lead sheathed cable I4 onto the reel. After the reel IG has been fully loaded, the motor 3Q is kept in operation while the lever 82 is being actuated to disengage the reel from the rolls i6 and I3. The upper portion of the ever 82 is grasped by an operator and pushed to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1. The arms 88- S8 (Figs. 5 and 6) secured to the rod 86, which is pivotally connected to the lower end of the lever 32, are thereby pulled to the left carrying with them the sleeve 68 on the stationary shaft 22.

The actuation of the lever S2 is in opposition to the action of the spring i4, which constantly urges the sleeve '5B toward its normal position, as viewed in Figs. 3 and 5. 'The flat .face I-6 of which a groove Iii/3 i At this moment 2 the arcuate cam 94' integrally mounted on the sleeve 68 makes it impossible for this sleeve to move to the left to the position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, until the rotation of the rom I8 has carried the plunger 66 past the fiat face It. Thus, if the operator should happen to push the lever 82 while the plunger 66 is rotating past the at face IDS or" the cam Q4, the device will not respond to his efforts until the plunger has rotated with the roll I8 around to the open space between the beveled surfaces 96-96 of the cam at. Then the sleeve 68 is free to slide from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. c. Continued rotation of the roll it causes the plunger 66 to encounter one of the beveled surfaces S56-c6 and ride up over it onto the bearing surface of the cam 94.

As the rotation of the roll I8 sweeps the plunger i up onto the bearing surface of the cam 94, the plunger is moved radially outward through the bore t4 in the roll I8 in opposition to the action of the spring lil. The plunger 66 protrudes gradually beyond the outer periphery of the roll I8 and enters the tapered recess et formed in one of the arcuate wedges di-5t.

These wedges iioat in sliding contact with the roll I8, and they normally hang in the position shown in Fig. 3.

By the time the roll I8 has carried the plunger S6 to the larger end of the tapered recess d8, the cam SB has thrust the plunger out to the limit oi its radial travel. The plunger 68 then catches the arcuate wedges Eli-54 and pulls them around from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4. In executing this motion, the wedges 54--54 are carried up and inserted between the reel I' and the roll I8. lThe wedges then lift and increase the tilt of the reel I0 by elevating the portion of its rims I-iZ that had been resting on the roll i8. The resultant wedging action is sufcient to eject and to shove the reel off onto the floor 28.

So long as the lever 82 remains pushed to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, the plunger 6 is swept counterclockwise, as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, around the cam 94 once during eachrevolution of the roll I8. Each time the plunger 66 reaches the end of the cam 94, the spring H3 retracts the plunger, pulling it back out of the recess 8 to a position in which it does not protrude beyond the outer periphery of the roll I8. This action releases the arcuate wedges `till-55, thereby permitting the spring IBB to pull the wedges baci; around to their normal position, shown in Fig. 3.

It is to be observed that the device cannot oe actuated unless the plunger l56 is in a predeter mined portion of its path of revolution with the roll I8. Thus, when the arcuate wedges iid-5a are in their normal position hanging near the bottom of the roll I8, and at the same time the plunger I8 is adjacent to the tapered recess t8, actuation of the lever 82 is .effective to cause the plunger to pick up the wedges and tilt the reei il! immediately. However, when the plunger Se is at some other portion of its path of revolution, the lever 82 does not yield to the efforts of the operator until the roll IB has carried the plunger completely past the flat -face Iii oi the cam 94, so that the sleeve 68 can be moved to locate the plunger between the beveled surfaces 96-96 of the cam 94.

Devices embodying the invention oder manifest advantages in readily and conveniently disassociating heavy reels and other similar objects from driving rolls with the .application of a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for removing a reel from a driving roll supporting and rotating the reel, which comprises an arcuate wedge floating on the roll, a radially movable plunger carried by the roll, and means for selectively camming the plunger radially outward into engagement with the wedge, whereby the wedge is advanced and inserted between the roll and the reel to lift the reel therefrom.

2. A device for removing a reel from a driving roll supporting and rotating the reel, which comprises an arcuate wedge oating on the roll, a radially movable plunger mounted on the periphery of the roll, means for selectively camming the plunger radially outward into engagement with the wedge, whereby the. wedge is ad vanced and inserted between the roll and the reel to lift the reel therefrom, and means for restoring the wedge to its original position after the reel has been elevated.

3. A device for removing a reel from a plurality of driving rolls on which the reel is supported and rotated, which comprises an arcuate Wedge floating on one of the rolls, a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore formed in the periphery of said roll, a. cam mounted in the interior of said roll for pushing the plunger outwardly into engagement with the Wedge, means for retracting the plunger, and means for selectively actuating the cam to advance and insert the wedge between the reel and said roll.

4. A device for removing a reel from a plurality of driving rolls on which the reel is supported and rotated, which comprises an arcuate wedge partially encircling and floating on one of the rolls, a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore formed in the periphery of said roll, a cam mounted in the interior of said roll for pushing the plunger radially outward into engagement with the Wedge, spring means for retracting the plunger, and means operable in a predetermined portion of the path of rotation of said roll for actuating the cam to engage the wedge with the plunger and thereby advance and insert the wedge between the reel and said roll.

5. A device for removing a reel from a plurality of driving rolls on which the reel is supported and rotated, which comprises an arcuate wedge partially encircling and iioating on one of the rolls, a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore formed in the periphery or" said roll, an arcuate cam movably mounted in the interior of said roll for pushing the plunger radially outward into engagement with the wedge, said cam having a bearing surface designed to actuate the plunger only in a predetermined portion of the path of rotation of said roll, spring means for retracting the plunger, and means for moving the cam into actuating position to engage the wedge with the plunger and thereby advance and insert the wedge between the reel and said roll to lift and eject the reel from the rolls.

6. A device for removing a reel from a plurality of hollow, cylindrical driving rolls on which the reel is supported and rotated, which comprises an arcuate wedge partially encircling and iloating on one of the rolls, a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore formed in the periphery of said roll, a stationary shaft extending axially through said roll, an arcuate cam movable longitudinally on the shaft for-pushing the plunger radially outward into engagement `with the wedge, said cam having a bearing surface designed to actuate the plunger only in a predetermined portion of the path of rotation of said roll, spring means for retracting the plunger, and means for moving the cam along the shaft to a position in which its bearing surface aetuates the plunger to engage the wedge and thereby advance and insert the wedge between the reel and said roll to lift and eject the reel from the rolls.

7. A device for removing a reel from a plurality of hollow, cylindrical driving rolls on which the reel is supported and rotated, which comprises an arcuate wedge floating in sliding contact with and partially encircling one of the rolls, a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore formed in the periphery of said roll, a stationary shaft extending axially through said roll, an arcuate cam movable longitudinally of the shaft for pushing the plunger radially outward into engagement with the wedge, said cam having a bearing surface designed to actuate the plunger only in a predetermined portion of the path of rotation of said roll, a spring associated with the plunger for urging it t0 a position in which the plunger does not protrude beyond the periphery of the roll, a rod movable longitudinally of the shaft for moving the cam to a position in which its bearing surface actuates the plunger to engage the wedge and thereby advance and insert thc wedge between the reel and said roll to lift and eject the reel from the rolls, and means for restoring the wedge to its original position after the reel has been ejected.

8. A device for handling reels, which comprises a pair of hollow, cylindrical rolls mounted rotat ably and spaced to support a reel, means for driving the rolls at the same speed and in the same direction to rotate such a reel, an arcuate wedge floating in slidnig contact with and partially en circling one of the rolls, a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore formed in the periphery oi said roll, a stationary shaft extending axially through said roll, a sleeve slidable longitudinally of the shaft, an arcuate cam carried by the sleeve, said cam being concentric with and partially encircling the shaft so as to provide a bearing surface for actuating the plunger only in a predetermined portion of the path of rotation of said roll, a spring associated with the plunger for urging it to a position in which the plunger does not protrude beyond the periphery of the roll, a red movable longitudinally of the shaft for sliding the sleeve to a position in which the bearing sur face of the cam actuates the plunger to engage 'ie wedge and thereby advance and insert wedge between the reel and said roll to lift and ej ect the reel from the rolls, and means for restoring the wedge to its origina-1 position after the reel has been ejected.

9. A device for handling reels, which comprises a pair of hollow, cylindrical rolls mounted rotatably and spaced to support a reel, means for driving the rolls at the same speed and in the same direction to rotate such a reel, a pair of arcuate wedges interlocked in sliding contact with and shaped to conform to the peripheral surface of one of the rolls normally hanging near the lower portion of said roll and pointing upwardly, said wedges extending across substantially the entire length of and around somewhat more than half of the circumference of said roll, a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore Vformed in the periphery of said roll, a stationary shaft extending axially through said roll, a sleeve slidable longitudinally of the shaft, an arcuate cam carried by the sleeve,

said cam being concentric with and partially encircling the shaft so as to provide a bearing surface for actuating the plunger only in a predetermined portion of the path of rotation of said roll, a spring associated with the plunger for urging it to a position in which the plunger does not protrude beyond the periphery of the roll, one of said wedges being provided with a recess designed to receive the plunger when the plunger protrudes beyond the peripheral surface of said roll, a rod movable longitudinally of the shaft for sliding the sleeve to a position in which the bearing surface of the cam pushes the plunger into the recess to engage the wedges and thereby advance and insert them between the reel and said roll to lift and eject the reel from the rolls, means for urging the sleeve to a position in which the cam does not actuate the plunger, and means for restoring the wedges to their normal position after the reel has been ejected.

l0. A device for handling reels, which comprises a pair of hollow, cylindrical rolls mounted rotatably and spaced to support a reel, a pair of stationary shafts one for each roll extending axially through the rolls, means for driving the rolls at the same speed and in the same direction to rotate such a reel, a pair of arcuate wedges floating in sliding contact with and shaped to conform to the peripheral surface of one of the rolls, each of said wedges having one end tapered and the opposite end shaped to interlock with the other wedge, said wedges extending across substantially the entire length of and around somewhat more than half of the circumference of said roll and normally hanging near the lower portion of said roll with their tapered ends pointing upwardly. a plunger reciprocable in a radial bore formed in the periphery of said roll, a sleeve slidable longitudinally of the shaft extending through said roll, an arcuate cam secured to and partially encircling the sleeve, said cam having tapered ends leading to a bearing surface across which the plunger rides during the rotation of said roll when the cam has been moved along said shaft to an actuating position and having a flat face for preventing movement of the cam to its actuating position unless the plunger is in a predetermined portion of the path of rotation of said roll, a spring associated with the plunger for urging it to a position in which the plunger does not protrude beyond the periphery of the roll, one of said Wedges being provided with a recess designed to receive the plunger when the plunger protrudes beyond the peripheral surface of said roll, a rod movable longitudinally of the shaft and connected to the sleeve for sliding the cam to its actuating position to push the plunger into the recess so as to engage the wedges and thereby advance and insert them between the reel and said roll to lift and eject the reel from the rolls, means for urging the cam away from its actuating position, and means for restoring the wedges to their normal position after the reel has been ejected.

References Cited in the ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

